Morven Museum & Garden’s exciting Grand Homes & Gardens Distinguished Speakers Series returns with another stellar lineup. This year we travel to the Roaring 20’s starting at Innisfree in New York, then south to Swan House in Georgia, down to Ca’ D’Zan on Florida’s west coast; finally arriving in Miami’s Vizcaya. Held live in Morven’s Stockton Education Center, adjacent to the Museum, and simulcast on Zoom, in February and March, this illustrated lecture series brightens winter up and down the coast.
In person program includes light refreshments tailored to the theme of each week’s featured lecturer. Online virtual program includes recipes for make-at-home fare. Pricing ranges from $15 to $90 – register HERE.
On February 24 at 6:30, Marissa Hershon, Curator of Ca ‘d’Zan and Decorative Arts at the John & Mable Ringling Museum of Art, will speak on this Glamorous Icon of the Roaring Twenties. Ca’ d’Zan, the winter residence of John and Mable Ringling in Sarasota, Florida, has been revered as an architectural gem since it was completed in 1926. Designed for the circus magnate, entrepreneur and art collector and his wife, Ca’ d’Zan or House of John in Venetian dialect, was intended as a showplace for entertaining during the mild winter season in Florida. The Mediterranean Revival style mansion is an American masterpiece by New York architect, Dwight James Baum. The architecture and interiors are a reflection of the Ringlings’ taste for Eurocentric design, while the original furnishings the Ringlings purchased show their admiration for ornate fashions of the Gilded Age. While spending winters in Florida, the Ringlings enjoyed hosting family, friends, politicians, and associates in the entertainment industry. Beyond the formal rooms for entertaining, the waterfront property was also a launching point for yachting excursions on the Zalophus. As a glamorous icon of Sarasota’s boom years, Ca’ d’Zan allows visitors to step back in time to the Roaring 20’s.
